We all think our jobs are impossible, but this profession takes stress to new heights. Literally.
The most stressful job I’ve ever had was, hands down, being a customer service rep for a phone company. It was eight hours a day of people screaming at me about charges I didn’t bill, for services that didn’t work, under policies I didn’t write. The company was shadier than a used car dealer, the customers treated me like I personally knocked over a cell tower, and I cried so often my mascara budget tripled. I lasted exactly 87 days before I rage-quit mid-shift. And hey, I’m not alone in my workplace angst. We’ve all had those days when we’re convinced our job is the absolute worst, right? (You might be having one today!)
But here’s the thing: While we all love to complain about our jobs (and rightfully so—work stress is real!), some occupations genuinely are more stressful than others. “The three essential characteristics of stressful work include high demand levels, low control and unpredictable work environments,” says Lisa Strohman, PhD, a clinical psychologist specializing in mental health and occupational stress.
Which brings us to a fascinating new study that just revealed which job takes the cake as America’s most stress-inducing career. It’s not what you’d expect, and it’s definitely not the obvious choice.
“We tend to think of stress as a white-collar issue—deadlines, emails, meetings—but this data shows that some of the most stressful jobs are also the most physical,” says Doug Staneart, a spokesperson for the Leaders Institute, which conducted the research. “When you combine danger, time pressure and unpredictable conditions, it’s no wonder these workers face such intense daily challenges.”
As it turns out, one profession checks all those boxes—and then some. So what is this uber-stressful job? (Hint: It’s not driving an Uber, although that can be stressful too.) Read on to get the scoop—and find out if your profession made the list of the top 10 most stressful jobs.
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How did the study determine the most stressful job?
The Leaders Institute, which specializes in the “soft skills” side of businesses, analyzed 700 occupations across the United States to identify the 100 most stressful jobs in America. The methodology was pretty comprehensive: Researchers combed through data from O-Net, a free online database developed by the U.S. Department of Labor that provides information about hundreds of occupations. They looked at the work-stress index, which factors in time pressure, frequency of decision-making, interactions with angry people and consequences of errors.
But the study didn’t just look at how stressful a job is; it also considered whether workers are being fairly compensated for that stress by correlating the stress index with median salary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Because let’s face it: Dealing with life-or-death situations is one thing, but doing it for barely above minimum wage is adding insult to literal injury. I’d say we should unpack that trauma, but you wouldn’t be able to afford therapy on most of these salaries.
The O-Net work-stress index scores jobs on a scale of 1 to 100, with higher numbers indicating more intense workplace pressure. From there, researchers factored in salary data to create a total stress score. The result? A revealing look at which American workers are really earning their paychecks—and which ones probably deserve a raise.
What is the No. 1 most stressful job?
The most stressful job in America is flight attendant, with a stress score of a whopping 91.12 out of 100.
Yes, you read that right. It’s not emergency room surgeons. Not bomb squad technicians. Not even middle school teachers on the day before spring break. Flight attendants topped the list, and when you think beyond the “I get to travel the world for free!” Instagram posts, it makes total sense.
Why did flight attendants earn the top spot?
With an O-Net stress index of 80.92 and a median salary of $67,130, flight attendants face a unique combination of factors that make their jobs incredibly demanding. We’re talking irregular schedules that wreak havoc on your body clock, jet lag that leaves you perpetually exhausted, passenger disputes at 30,000 feet with literally no escape (not even to the bathroom … have you seen airplane bathrooms?!) and the very real possibility of midair emergencies.
Of course, not everyone develops an anxiety disorder at cruising altitude. “Honestly, I find this really surprising,” says Loretta Hill, a 61-year-old flight attendant with JetBlue who has been flying for 10 years. “Maybe it’s because I am really cut out for this type of job, as I am physically strong and have an easygoing disposition.”
But for every flight attendant who’s found their purpose flying the friendly skies, there are others, especially newer ones, who are vulnerable to job stress. So let’s dig into the details of what, exactly, makes this a high-stress career.
Circadian rhythm chaos
“I think the most stressful thing about being a flight attendant is managing the constant circadian rhythm disruption,” says Hill. “This is the worst thing for our health, and it impacts mentally how we feel, our metabolism, our sleep, so it makes everything much more challenging.”
Hill isn’t exaggerating. When you’re crossing multiple time zones regularly, your body’s internal clock gets completely scrambled. You might be eating “dinner” at 3 a.m. local time or trying to sleep when your body insists it should be wide awake. This constant disruption doesn’t just make you tired—research shows it can lead to serious health problems, including weight gain, cardiovascular issues and mental health challenges.
The unpredictable public
Imagine being stuck in a metal tube at 35,000 feet with a crowd of people who are terrified of flying, have had one too many airport cocktails or believe the laws of basic human decency are suspended once they board a plane. Now add in crying babies, people who refuse to wear shoes in the airplane bathroom (this is, tragically, not hypothetical), passengers who treat you like a personal servant rather than a safety professional and the guy in 27C who insists his peacock is an “emotional support animal.”
“Your stress is really determined by how many hours you work and how worn out you get,” Hill explains. “Dealing with the general public totally tests your patience.”
And by “tests your patience,” she’s referring to situations like having to smile politely while someone argues that their carry-on the size of a small refrigerator will definitely fit in the overhead bin—then having to help them shove it in there anyway because the plane needs to leave on time.
Safety responsibilities nobody sees
Many people don’t realize this, but flight attendants aren’t just there to serve drinks and abysmally tiny bags of pretzels. They’re highly trained first responders who need to be ready at a moment’s notice to evacuate an entire plane, perform CPR, deliver a baby or handle any number of emergency situations. The training is intense, the responsibility is enormous, and the mental burden of being constantly prepared for disaster—while maintaining a calm, friendly demeanor—is exhausting.
“There is also the public perception vs. reality,” Strohman says. “Public perception is that they are there to serve drinks and assist the public, but they are the last line of defense of plane safety. They see the engines, the wings and even internal plane issues that the pilots don’t see.”
Serious health risks that accumulate over time
The job takes a physical toll that goes beyond just feeling tired. Research shows flight attendants face slightly higher rates of certain cancers—particularly breast and skin cancer—due to increased exposure to cosmic radiation at high altitudes. They also have elevated risks of cardiovascular disease and are constantly exposed to infectious diseases from passengers in the confined cabin environment.
Plus, flight attendants experience more sleep problems, depression, anxiety and fatigue than the average population, with depression rates nearly double that of the general public.
No escape from difficult situations
Unlike most stressful jobs, where you can step away, take a break or remove yourself from a difficult situation, flight attendants are literally trapped. If there’s a belligerent or sexually harassing passenger, they can’t just call security and wait elsewhere—they have to handle it themselves while maintaining composure. If someone has a medical emergency, help could be hours away. During turbulence, they must reassure passengers while likely feeling terrified themselves.
And there are no real breaks during flights. They’re “on” the entire time, performing what we call “emotional labor,” constantly managing their own feelings to appear calm and pleasant no matter what chaos is unfolding around them, Strohman says. “The requirement to maintain composure during long periods at high altitudes, even when things are going wrong, is very stressful,” she says.
The reserve system nightmare
Being “on reserve” adds a whole other layer of stress, particularly for new flight attendants. This means you’re essentially on call, never knowing when you’ll be called into work or where you’ll be sent, and every flight attendant has to do it sometimes—and not just for a few weeks at a time. “Being on reserve when you first start with very low pay is extremely stressful,” Hill says. “I started getting migraines for the first time in my life after being on reserve for three years.”
The unpredictability makes it nearly impossible to plan your life, maintain relationships or establish any kind of routine—all things that are essential for managing stress and maintaining mental health. Add in the fact that flight attendants regularly miss holidays, birthdays and family events due to their schedules, and the isolation compounds.
What other jobs rounded out the top 10?
While flight attendants took the crown, they’re not alone in the stress Olympics. The rest of the top 10 is dominated by physically demanding and dangerous positions, with four of them coming from the oil and gas industry. Here’s the full lineup, along with their total stress score:
- Flight attendants: 91.12
- Service unit operators, oil and gas: 88.65
- Hoist and winch operators: 87.50
- Wind turbine service technicians: 87.06
- Rotary drill operators, oil and gas: 87.01
- Firefighters: 86.95
- Derrick operators, oil and gas: 86.57
- Helpers for extraction workers: 85.01
- Tank car, truck and ship loaders: 84.89
- Millwrights*: 84.80
Notice a pattern? These jobs share common themes—physical danger, time pressure, high-stakes decision-making and work environments that can be remote, extreme or downright hazardous. Many of these positions require workers to be away from home for extended periods, adding the stress of family separation to an already demanding job.
*I didn’t know what this was, so if you don’t know either: Millwrights are essentially mechanics for machines the size of your house. They fix the giant equipment that makes everything from cereal to cars. And they have to read a lot of technical diagrams.
Why are these jobs so stressful?
Looking at the top 10, several key stressors emerge that make these jobs particularly brutal on workers’ mental and physical health.
First, there’s the physical danger factor. Whether you’re climbing a wind turbine hundreds of feet in the air, operating heavy machinery on an oil rig or running into a burning building, these jobs put your life on the line. The constant awareness that one mistake could be fatal creates a baseline level of stress that office workers simply don’t experience.
Second, time pressure is intense. Many of these positions involve split-second decision-making, where hesitation can lead to catastrophic consequences. “Roles like firefighting or flight attending involve constant decision-making and contact with people in distress,” Staneart says. “Over time, that can lead to burnout if not managed properly.”
Strohman notes that flight attendants, in particular, “encounter all these elements during their daily work. The staff needs to handle passenger safety and emotional requirements while handling unpredictable flight schedules and time zone changes with limited freedom of action.”
Third, there’s the compensation conundrum. “Several of these roles pay below the national median salary, which only compounds the issue,” Staneart says. “When people feel they’re risking their health or safety without fair compensation, the psychological impact can be huge.” It’s one thing to accept risk when you’re being handsomely rewarded; it’s another to do it for wages that barely cover the bills.
Finally, these jobs often involve working in isolated or extreme conditions—whether that’s miles offshore on an oil rig, suspended hundreds of feet in the air or trapped in a metal tube hurtling through the sky. The lack of escape, limited social support and inability to easily access help if something goes wrong all contribute to chronic stress.
Is it weird that flight attendants topped the list compared with these overtly dangerous jobs?
“Yes,” Hill admits. “Don’t get me wrong, my job can be incredibly stressful, but I’m married to a paramedic, and his job seems far more cortisol-spiking.” At first glance, it might seem odd that flight attendants beat out obviously dangerous professions like firefighters and oil rig workers. I mean, one group runs into burning buildings, and the other operates heavy machinery on platforms in the middle of the ocean. Surely that’s more stressful than serving ginger ale and pretzels, right?
Not necessarily.
Here’s the key difference: While firefighters and paramedics deal with intense, acute stress during emergencies, flight attendants face chronic, unrelenting stress that never really turns off. It’s the difference between sprinting and running a marathon while someone throws trash at you and occasionally yells about why their Wi-Fi isn’t working. Their bodies are in a constant state of disruption from the irregular schedules and time zone changes. They’re dealing with the public—and all the unpredictability that entails—for hours on end in a confined space where they can’t just walk away or take a break.
Add in the constant separation from family and the impossibility of maintaining a normal sleep schedule, and you have a recipe for chronic stress that, over time, can be more damaging than the acute stress of more obviously dangerous jobs.
Strohman points out another crucial difference: “Flight attendants lack immediate access to institutional support during their most critical moments at work. The medical staff at hospitals maintain close proximity to their colleagues and supervisors, but flight attendants must handle emergencies and conflicts while being alone in the sky.”
And then there’s the dual nature of their role. “The combination of customer service work with safety responsibilities makes flight attendants experience a special kind of dual stress that few other professions encounter,” she says. You’re simultaneously a safety officer and a hospitality worker—and those two roles often conflict, creating even more stress.
Hill agrees, adding that she’s grateful that she knows “how to manage supplements, nutrition and exercise to mitigate the damage,” because she’s “watched many of my co-workers gain a lot of weight and struggle with serious health problems in the past 10 years.”
What other jobs are similarly stressful to flight attendants’ jobs?
If you’re reading this and thinking, “Wait, what about my job?”—you’re not alone. While the study focused on quantifiable metrics like physical danger and time pressure, there are plenty of other professions that carry significant stress in different ways. (We see you nodding vigorously, fellow humans with jobs!)
Customer service representatives (heyo!), for instance, deal with many of the same people-management challenges as flight attendants, minus the altitude. They’re constantly interacting with frustrated customers, have little control over outcomes and often face unrealistic performance metrics. Teachers juggle enormous caseloads of students with varying needs and deal with parents, administrators and constantly changing policies—all while being chronically underpaid. (And that’s before we get into school shooting risks!) Nurses work long shifts dealing with life-and-death situations, difficult patients and emotionally draining scenarios, and they’re frequently understaffed and overworked.
Then there are the jobs that involve emotional labor that’s hard to quantify. Social workers regularly deal with traumatic situations, limited resources and the knowledge that they can’t save everyone. Retail workers, especially during holidays, deal with the stress of angry customers, long hours on their feet and the pressure to meet sales targets. Even people in “happy” jobs, like rescuing puppies, often have to see a very dark side of life (otherwise the animals wouldn’t need rescuing).
The truth is, any job that combines limited control over your work environment, high emotional demands, time pressure and inadequate compensation is going to be stressful. “Employers need to prioritize rest, safety and mental health support, especially in these high-stakes environments,” Staneart emphasizes. And honestly? That advice applies to far more than just the top 100 on this list.
How can you manage job stress before it becomes burnout?
Regardless of where your job falls on the stress scale, chronic workplace stress can lead to burnout, a state of emotional, physical and mental exhaustion that affects your health, relationships and quality of life. According to recent research, nearly half of U.S. employees say their job significantly impacts their mental health, with stress-related burnout climbing steadily since the pandemic.
“The human body remains in fight-or-flight mode because of workplace stress, which leads to elevated cortisol and adrenaline levels,” Strohman explains. “The prolonged exposure to workplace stress leads to burnout and anxiety and depression and sleep disturbances and immune system deterioration and heart disease development.”
The key is recognizing the warning signs early. Are you constantly exhausted, even after a full night’s sleep? Do you feel cynical about your work or detached from your job? Are you less productive than usual, or do you find yourself procrastinating more? These could all be signs that stress is tipping you into burnout territory. “People who work under stressful conditions develop emotional exhaustion,” Strohman says. “Cynicism and detachment are common signs of burnout.”
If any of this resonates, don’t wait for it to get “really bad.” You should act now, Strohman says. She recommends several evidence-based strategies:
- Prioritize the basics. Your body needs fuel and downtime to manage stress, so rest, hydration, exercise and nutrition are essential, not optional.
- Use grounding techniques. Deep-breathing exercises and journaling can help calm your nervous system and process difficult experiences.
- Set boundaries. Establish clear limits to protect your emotional well-being. Don’t personalize every difficult interaction—it will only cause more problems in the long run.
- Stay connected. People who work in isolation experience higher levels of burnout. Make time for regular connection with loved ones, even if it’s just short video calls.
- Seek professional support. Working proactively with a therapist or life coach who specializes in occupational stress management helps prevent small problems from developing into major burnout.
“Maybe having all the life experience that I’ve had helps me not to get that stressed out,” Hill says. And you know what? She might be onto something. Perspective, self-care and knowing when to advocate for yourself can make all the difference—no matter what job you’re clocking into every day. Even if that job involves serving extra-tasty tomato juice to someone who just snuck all their trash into the seat pocket like a feral raccoon.
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Sources:
- Doug Staneart, spokesperson for the Leaders Institute; email interview, Oct. 22, 2025
- Loretta Hill, flight attendant with JetBlue Airways; phone interview, Oct. 27, 2025
- Lisa Strohman, PhD, clinical psychologist and founder of Digital Citizen Academy; phone interview, Oct. 29, 2025
- The Leaders Institute
- O-Net OnLine
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: “Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics”
- World Health Organization: “Burn-out an ‘occupational phenomenon’: International Classification of Diseases”
- American Psychological Association: “Striving for mental health excellence in the workplace”
- Mental Health America: “The State of Mental Health in America 2025”
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health: “Stress … At Work”
- Centers for Disease Control: “Cancer in Aircrew”
